The Arkansas Supreme Court voted on a narrow part of the state's case over gay marriage last month but only planned on issuing that decision if the nation's highest court didn't legalize same-sex marriage, a justice said Thursday.

Most Arkansas municipalities that have adopted broader anti-discrimination protections for gays and lesbians say they'll keep enforcing the measures despite a new law taking effect this week intended to prohibit such ordinances.

A social conservative who once called for banning gay couples from becoming foster parents, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson was an unlikely foil for members of his own party outraged at the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down same-sex marriage bans nationwide.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has added her name to a letter signed by 47 state attorneys general urging Congress to ensure that any future federal data breach notification or data security law provides consumers with the best protection.

In Arkansas, the GOP backlash against same-sex marriage included a governor who accused justices of disregarding Arkansans' beliefs and a conservative activist calling the decision "illegitimate." But it didn't include a call for the state to defy the nation's highest court.

The Arkansas Attorney General's Office requested a rehearing Wednesday before the U.S. appeals court that agreed last month with a lower court that a state law unconstitutionally burdens women by banning abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy if a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen has ordered Arkansas officials to recognize over 500 same-sex marriages performed in the state last year, a move that will let the couples enjoy benefits such as filing taxes jointly. Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who has vowed to defend the state's gay marriage ban, did not say whether she would seek a stay of the ruling.

Little Rock officials voted Tuesday to prohibit the city and companies contracting with it from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity, challenging a new Arkansas law criticized as anti-gay.